Developer Foreword

Thank you to all participants in Pirate Software Jam 16 and Boss Rush Jam 2025. Your feedback was invaluable, and informed the changes outlined in this Development Log. Special thanks also go to Progzyy for streaming himself playing my submission and giving me valuable insight into how people approached my game.

Major Changes

• Added Interactive Tutorial
  • Replaces old tutorial text following feedback from Jam participants that the original tutorial was too hard to read

• Added Checkpoint and Retry System
  • Player can now select a checkpoint on the Start Screen
  • If the player dies (and they are on normal mode), they have the option to retry the level with a time penalty

• Reworked Phase Jump Ability
  • Phase Jump Ability now deals damage
  • Phase Jump Ability now also 
  • Reworked Phase Jump visual effect to be more clear and show the zone of damage/repulsion

• Replaced Upgrades “Jump Energy Cost” and “Jump Duration” with "Jump Damage" and "Jump Radius" upgrades
  • Jump Damage Increases Phase Jump damage by 25/25/25/25/100% and costs 1/2/3/4/8
  • Jump Radius Increases damage radius of Phase Jump by 33/33/34/50%  and costs 2/3/4/6

• Reworked Hardcore Mode (originally named “Hard Mode”)

• Complete Redesign of all Desert Planet bosses
  • See Boss Changes section for more info

• Added new Boss Ability Variant – Spawn Outer Barrier Central
  • See Boss Changes section for more info
    

Boss Changes

• Boss 1 – Foreboding Rock
  • Reduced Starting Health
  • Increased Damage dealt by Throw Rock Ability
  • Increased Damage dealt by Throw Rock Ability
  • Increased Size of Throw Rock’s Projectiles
  • Added Circular Attack when Boss falls below 50% health
  • Sped up default attack cycle to reflect lower Starting Health

• Boss 2 – Abandoned Sector
  • Circular Attack Sequence now fires larger projectiles at a much lower frequency
  • Added Meteor Shower ability that is triggered periodically

Dev Comment: Participants stated that this boss was very unremarkable and simultaneously too easy AND too time consuming to kill in the Game Jam release of this Game. These changes address this feedback

• Boss 3 – C’Rori Outpost
  • Renamed from “Zeizen Outpost” to “C’Rori Outpost”
  • Increased Damage Dealt by Satellites, Circular Attack, and Rapid-Fire Laser
  • Increased Satellite Munition Size
  • Reduced Starting Health and Self-Heal Ability values

• Boss 4 – Formidable Moon
  • Reduced Starting Health
  • Reduced Health of Throw Rock and Circular Attack Asteroids
  • Increased Damage Dealt by all Abilities

• Boss 5 – Gaseous Pulsator
  • Increased Damage Dealt by all Abilities

• Boss 6 – Barren World
  • Added new Ability – Spawn Outer Barrier Central
  • Increased Damage Dealt by all Abilities
  • Increased Speed and Size of Meteors spawned by Meteor Shower Ability
  • Increased Attack Count of Circular Attack
  • Reduced Frequency of Circular Attack
  • Reduced Starting Health

• Boss 7 – C’Rori Colony
  • Renamed from “Graalaav Homeworld” to “C’Rori Colony”
  • Increased Damage Dealt by Satellites, Circular Attack, and Rapid-Fire Laser
  • Increased Satellite Munition Size
  • Reduced Fire Rate of Rapid-Fire Laser
  • Reduced Starting Health and Self-Heal Ability values

• Boss 8 – Desolate Wasteland
  • Removed Circular Attack, Self-Heal, and Minor Meteor Shower Abilities
  • Added 3-stage Spawn Outer Barrier Attack Sequence when the Boss falls below 50% health
  • Increased Speed, Size and Damage of Meteors spawned by Meteor Shower Ability

• Boss 9 – Thorin V
  • Reduced damage dealt by Rapid-Fire Laser Slightly
  • Increased Damage dealt by Outer and Inner Barrier Asteroids
  • Increased Ejection speed of Spawn Outer Barrier Asteroids

• Boss 10 – Ferocious Mass
  • Increased Size of Asteroids fired by Throw Rock
  • Increased Damage Dealt by Throw Rock and Outer/Inner Barrier Asteroids       
  • Increased Damage Dealt by Orbiting Moon’s Throw Rock ability
  • Reduced Spawn Rate of Outer/Inner Barrier Asteroids

• Boss 11 – C’Rori Homeworld
  • Renamed from “C’Rori Maximus” to “C’Rori Homeworld”
  • Increased Starting Satellite Spawn Count
  • Increased Satellite Munition Size
  • Increased Damage Dealt by all Abilities
  • Reduced Self-Heal value

• Boss 12 – Virgo Prime
  • Increased Damage Dealt by All Abilities
  • Increased Size of Large Laser Wave Ability Projectile
  • Reduced Starting Health Slightly
  • Reduced Maximum Orbit Distance from Planetoid Slightly

• Boss 13 – Coreless Assecla
  • Increased Damage Dealt by all Abilities
  • Increased Spawn Frequency of Homing Glaives and Large Laser Waves
  • Reduced Starting Health Slightly

• Boss 14 – Azimuth Major
  • Reduced Starting Attack Speed of Rapid-Fire Laser and Laser Shotgun
  • Increased Damage dealt by all Abilities
  • Increased Rate of Attack Speed Gain of all abilities

• Boss 15 - MY Cephei
  • Increased Damage dealt by all Abilities
  • Increased Damage dealt by Moons’ Abilities
  • Increased Triggered Regen value slightly
  • Increased MY Cephei Size slightly

Polish and Bug Fixes

• Added growth animation to Large Laser Wave fired by Gas and Star Planetoid Bosses
• Added Custom Cursor for Start Screen
• Added Custom Crosshair Cursor for Main/Tutorial Screens
• Added confirmation screen for Ship Repair Ability
• Added Text Clarifying that the Refunding Upgrade Points button is free
• Added Visual Explosion Effects for when the player destroys a Planetoid
• Renamed Game from “Planet Rush” to “Planetoid Rush”
• Adjusted Layout of Upgrade Screen
• Redesigned Start Game Panel
• Moved Volume Sliders from Start Game Panel to below panel selection buttons

• Fixed bug where Targeting Reticle would gradually shrink as the game progressed
• Fixed bug where Explosion Visual Effects would not render on WebGL/Web Assembly platforms.
• Fixed bug where Volume Sliders Fill area was not offset correctly
• Fixed rounding bug with Damage Upgrade Value
• Fixed bug where Energy Regeneration Upgrade was not applied properly
• Fixed bug where Phase Cooldown Upgrade was not applied properly
• Fixed bug where Laser beams could reach from one defeated Boss into the view of another

END